Type-writing machine.



L/ No. 876,685.

PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908. J. H. BIRCH & J. S. FOLEY. TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED 0( ]T.19. 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Y 120672 %07S yakzafl 362 192221? e 6 (2 0 Z6 I I w WITNESSES No.876,685. PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908.

' J. H. BIRCH & J. s. FOLEY.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 00T-.19.'1 906.

3 SHEBTS-SHEET 2.

wt is? fiuazzialv No. 876,685. PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908. J. BIRCH & J-. s.FOLEY.

' TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLIUATION FILED 00119. 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN HENRY BIRCH AND J'AMEs SAMUEL FOLEY, or wEsT BROMWICH, ENGLAND.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE..

JAMES SAMUEL FOLEY, subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing atHigh Street,

West Bromwich, near Birmingham, England, have invented certain. new anduseful Im-l provements in Type-Writing Machines, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to type-writing machines and has for itsobject to construct arrange and mount the platen-carriage and laten insuch a manner as .toinsure the ight, silent and practically frictionlessrunning of the machine, and to facilitate the detachment or removal ofeither the platen alone or of both the platen and carriage individuallyorcollectively from the body or standing frame-for rendering every partof the mechanism fully accessible for cleaning, inspection or repair.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings re resents a to -side plan, partlyin horizon-- ta section, of t e rear portion of a typewriting machineconstructed in accordance with this invention and showing thearrangement of the detachable carriage upon which the platen (not shown)is mounted. This view also shows the construction of the ball hearingrollers upon which the carriage is mounted, in addition to representingin dotted lilies, the arrangement of the connections between thelsaidplaten carriage and the springactuated mechanism for imparting the intermittent or step-by-step movement to the carriage and platen when eitherthe writing keys or the spacing bar of the machine is o erated. Fig. 2is a view showing, partly in p an and partlyin horizontal section themeans whereby the traction spring connections may be temporarilyanchored to the frame of the machine when the carriage as well as theplaten are removed. Fig. 3 is an underside plan of the platen of thesup.

porting frame separably, showing the arrangement of the locking slidewherebythe said platen and itscarriage are detachably secured to theframe. This View shows the said slide in its operative or fasteningposition, while Fig; 4 represents the position in which the said slidehas to be placed in order to release the carriage. Fig. 5 is an endelevation, partly in section, of the carriage and platen mountingsshowing the arrangement and disposition of the various supporting andfastening devices. This view shows the carriage. thrown back from itsnormal position Specification of Letters Patent; Application filedOctober 19. 1906. Serial No- 339.683-

Patented Jan. 14;; 1908.

into the rearmost of the two other positions i whichit may be made toassume by the actuation of platen shift keys for writing ca itals .orfigures. Fig. 6 is a-similar view but s ows the platen in the normalposition which it always assumes until either'the capitals or figuresshift key is operated. Fig. 7

shows in end elevation the cylinder and the carriage separated from oneanother and disconnected and detached from that part of the frame orbody of the machine to which they are normally secured. Fig. Sis adetail view showing the arrangement of a silencing spring which is usedin connectionwith the carriage escapement mechanismfor insuring silentworking.

- The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral figures of the drawings.

The carriage a and platen b are arranged at the back of the machinebetween the typebar housing and a horizontally-disposed margin-stop rail0, and are mounted upon antifriction ball bearing rollers running upon asystem of guide. rails as hereinafter described and adapted to renderthe movements of the a in the horizontal plane may be changed forprinting either capital or figures and the like, as the operator mayrequire, it being understood that in the normal position of the platen,which is shown in Fig. 6, the actuation of the keys will cause the smallcharacter'types to print upon the paper. One pair of the links (Z of theparallel motion system are disposed between the type-bar housing and theplaten-carriage and are arranged to su port at their u per ends, the'top guiderai e to which the platen frame is detachably connected ashereinafter described, so that when either shift-key is operated and thelinks are made to swing in a direction at right anglesto the length ofthe platen, they carry the top-guide rail and the platen with them, andtransfer the latter from the nor- .mal position shown in Fig. 6 intoeither the rearmost position shown in Fig. 5"or into an intermediatepositlon between the two-corresponding to the throw or angular movementwhich the linksd are constrained to make when the capitals shift key isoper-,

ated, but when the said key is released, the

shift-key spring (Z returns the links, the guide rail and the platen totheir normal po sitions .and retains them there during the i i Y wholeof'the time that the machine is being of the cylinder-frame b atsuitable points at f 1 while their up er ends are provided with @QPBDtopped or for ed bearings f for the reeeption of trunnion ins .b whichare attached to the outer sides of the end plates for-preserving theparallelism of the platen onits position being changed when the guiderail'links dare operated by one of the shift keys.

' The platen is constrained to traverse with the carriage along thetop-guide rail c, which, in addition to forming the connection betweenthe shift key mechanism and the cylinder, also serves-asone of the suports for the latter, and for this purpose, the rent of the platen frameis fitted with a pair of anti-friction, rollers g each having a singlerow of balls arranged between its inner periphery and a fixed pivot pin(as hereinafter described) and adapted to run along the top of the saidrail. These rollers are preferably grooved to saddleupon the 'rail'andto admit 'of them being used as part of the means for 40 detachablyconnecting theplaten to the said rail, while the other element of theconnection is formed by a tongue or catch h which is mounted on theplaten frame and is adapted, when in its extended and operative position(as sho'wn in Figs. 3, 5 and 6) to engage under the rail and positivelyprevent the. guide roller .or rollers from being lifted or disengagedtherewith, without however, interfering with the free and frictionlessrolling movement when the carriage is in motion. This tongue catch ishowever so arranged that when it is desired to detach the platen itmaybe withdrawn from under the rail, and for this purpose, it is carriedby a slide h having a system of inclined slots 7:

working over .fixvd pins or studs It on the platen frame, and the slideitself is connected. to a rod 11, extending beyond the end. of the saidframe and ad apted-when moved in one direction by the operator, totraverse the slotted plat-e over the pins and withdraw the catch clearof the rail (see Fig. 4) while by moving the said rod in the oppositedirection the reverse movement is imparted to the said "catch for takingthe same into the engaging I position beneath the rail in which itcooperates with the platen anti-friction roller or rollers for lockingthe said platen to the shiftmechanism. 7

The connection between the platen frame Z1 and the back links f of theshift action is rendered detachable by forming the upper ends of thesaid links with the forked bearings f for the reception of the frametrunnions b and by pivoting small hookedcatches f to the outsides of thesaid links, such catches being adapted when in one position to ention-tosupporting the platen, it also has I mounted upon it the usual.escapement dogs 4 which cooperate with a ratchet-toothed escapenientrack i for controlling the car riage traverse under the pull of the saidtraction. spring, the cscapement release key, carricge belland stopmechanism and other accessoryrparts. The said carriage is mounted in aspace between the escapement rack- .bar 1' and. the margin adjustmentrail 0, which is carried. by small pillars or standards along theextreme back edge of the standing frame, and for the pur ose of guidingthe said carriage in its i'ecti inear movemcnt and rendering the actionnoiseless and smooth the rearward side of the same is fitted with asystem of anti-friction ball-bearing rollers two or more of which y aregrooved and adapted to run along a fixed guide rail j attached to thestanding frame and set parallel with the top-rail of the platen shiftlink mechanism while another roller j is mounted in a rearward extensionof the car riage so as to come under and run along the ment rail 0 whichthus prevents the other rollers of the carriage from rising or jumpingthe guide rail when the machine is being operated at a high speed. Tocooperate with this system of anti-friction rollers, the carriage isalso provided with a pallet or bracket plate 76 on the top of which thetoothed dogs '5 of the escapement mechanism are mounted, and this palletis extended beyond the forward edge of the carriage into a tongue kwhich is adaptedv to engage within a longitudinal groove or race-way 717formed along the back-Jedge, of a stationary guide-bar Zr --which isfixed to the frame below the escapement rack-bar and parallel with thetop and bottom rails. This arunderside of the elevated margin adjushgage over the extending ends of the said rangement preserves theparallelism of the carriage, but the alinement or adjustment of theplaten with thesystem of guide rods may be facilitated by carrying theanti-friction rollers in brackets which are capable'of independentadjustment in directions at right angles to the axis of the platen,while in order to prevent the pallet-tongue from rattling or chatteringin the guide race, the pallet itself is hinged to the carriage ormounted on a rock shaft having its bearings in'the said carriage and alightspring such as 7c is arranged to act upon its under; side and bytending to force the same upwards to keep the said tongue in just sulfacient frictional contact with the top of the guide race in the'fixed barto prevent play and chatter and thus render the motion silent. j

In addition to the margin-adjustment rail cooperating with the roller ofthe carriage extension for keeping the principatrollers down upon themain guide rail, the said 1nargin rail also serves as the means forretaining the carriage in its proper position at the back of themachine, and in order to provide for the complete detachment and removalof the saidv carriages together with the platen, the margin rail is madeso that it may, when desired, be disconnected and swung quite clear soas to leave the way open for the carriage to be withdrawn from the backof the machine. This may be effected by pivoting one end of the rail toone of its supports 0 so that it may swing in a horizontal )lane asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, am by providing a simple locking devicefor securely fastening the opposite end to the other support 0 such forin stance, as by forming a gap 0 in the edge of the rail end to engage aneck or reduced part of the pillar or standard. 0 and by fitting a smallscrew-controlled locking pin or eccen tric slide to move across andclose the entrance to the said gap after it has passed or er the neck ofthe pillar. \Vith such an arrangement when the margin-rail is swungaside, and the platen fastening slide has been disengaged from the topguide-rail so as to release the said platen from the shift mechanism,and after the carriage has been disconnected from the traction spring,both the carriage and platen can be collectively lifted away from theback of the machine, and then they can be detached from one another ifdesired, by disengaging the hook catches of the rearward platen-shiftlinksf, from the trunnion studs of the platen frame.

To facilitate the unshipping of the carriage from the main spring thelatter is detachably connected to the said carriage through the mediumof a cord or light chain m which is adapted to be wound around a drum mby the action of the said spring and to draw the carriage in onedirection and to be paid off the said drum and. tension the spring al n1 the said carriage is pushed in the other threetion by hand. Theconnection cord preferably terminates in a small eye-plate m whichnormally engages over a stud or 'peg m arranged at the right hand end ofthe carriage but is capable of being withdrawn therefrom so as touncouple the said carriage from the spring gear and it may betemporarily anchored to the frame during such time that the carriage isdisconnected by providing said frame with a similar peg or stud m overwhich the eye-plate is passed, as shown in Fig. 2.

As already stated. the ball bearing rollers which support the platen andrun upon the top guide rail and also the carriage rollers which runupontho bottom rail and also under the margin rail are each providedwith a single row of balls n, interposed between the pivot pin a and theinner periphery of the roller, and in order to facilitate assemblementand adjustment of these, it is proposed to form the internal peripheryof each roller with a groove or ball race a while each pivot pin carriesboth a fixed cone n and a screwedon adjusting cone a whose eonoidalsurfaces together comprise another V-sectioned race opposed to the race11 of the roller and between these inclined surfaces theballs arearranged to run in four-p0int contact. The central opening a in theroller has obviously to be of less diameter than the V-shaped race, butthe annular space included between this opening and the pivot pin issuflicient to admit of the balls. being introduced before the 100adjusting cone is applied, and then this lastnamed cone, in beingscrewed home along the said pivot acts upon the ring of inserted ballsand expands them outwardly into their proper position within the raceand after the cone has been finally adjusted to admit of the rollerrunning freely upon the ball with lateral play or shake, the same issecured in its adjusted position by means of a lock nut such as a.

Having fully described our invention, what we desire to claim and secureby Letters Patent is:

1. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a supporting frame, acarriage mounted to operate thereon, and a platen frame shiftabletransversely on the carriage and having one side detachably connected tothe latter, of a shifting rail mounted on the supporting frame anddetachably connected to the platen frame. the shifting rail beingmovable laterally of its length only for shifting the platentransversely of the carriage and a catch for locking the platen frame tothe shifting rail and for permitting its detachment from the latter.

251p a typewriting machine,.the combination with asupporting frame, apair of platen-supporting links thereon, a guide rail carried by thesupporting links, a traversing platen frame connected to the rail, atray? ersing platen carriage, a second pair of links fulcrumed to andswinging from-the platen carriage and supporting the platen frame, asystem of grooved rollers mounted upon the platen frame and adapted totraverse the said rail, and a catch carried by the platen frame andguided to move into and. out of cooperation with the under side fordetachably locking the of the said rai platen frame in operativeposition.

3. In a typewriting machine, the c'ombi nation with a supporting frame,of a traversing carriage guided thereon, a pair of vertically-arrangedlinks pivotally supported on the carriage, a'platen frame having one ofits longitudinalsides pivotally connected to the upper ends of the saidlinks, a second. pair of links mounted on the supporting frame andcooperating at their upper ends with the opposite side of the'platenframe for guiding the latter for movement in substantially a. horizontalplane. V

4. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a supporting frame, ofa traversing carriage guided thereon, a pair of links 'pivotally mountedon the carriage, a platen frame detachably engaging the said links asecond .pair of links mounted on the supporting framejand having a guiderail connecting them, supporting rollers on the platen frame cooperatingwith the up er side of the said rail, and a catch movable into and outof cooperative relation with the under side of the rail for detachablylocking the laten frame thereon.

,ingthe shifting links to the platen 5. In a typewriting machine, thecombination with a supporting frame, of a traversing carriage mounted tooperate thereon, a pair of links pivotally mounted on the car riage andprovided with open bear ngs at their upper ends, a platen frame having,

projections adapted to detachably engage the open bearings of thesaid-links, catches on the links for locking the said rejections incooperative relation therewitli, shifting links pivotally mounted on thesupporting frame, and a catch for detachably connect frame.

a; 6. A- type-writer machine having the frame thereof provided with agroove in its top, a traversing carriage, and escapement mechan1smcarried thereby embodymg a platehavin' a tongue-arranged to operatengitudina yof the groove, and a silencing spring upon the carriage andwhich is adapt ed to act upon the escapement pallet and retain its edgein contact with the top of the groove in the frame.

7. In a typewriting machine, the combination with, a supporting frame, arelatively fixed guide rail thereon, and a movable rail arranged aboveand adjustable relatively toward and from the fixed rail, a groove beingformed in the supporting frame at the opposite side of the fixed railand opening toward the latter, of a carriglge adapted to carry theplaten, apart on t e carriage c0- operating with the under side of theadjustable rail and arranged to disengage therefrom ,by a relativelylateral movement of the rail, a projection on the carriage cooperatingwith the groove in the supporting.

frame, and grooved rollers on the carriage cooperating with the fixedrail to support the carriage and .to retain the projection thereon inengagement with its cooperating groove;

8. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a supporting framehaving a longitudinal groove thereon, and a relatively nation withasupporting frame provided with a longitudina groove, and a guide rail,of a platen supporting carriage having rollers arranged to cooperatewith the guide rail, a plate on the carriage movable transversely of theplane of movement thereof and having a tongue operating in the groove onthe supporting frame, a silencing device interposed between the carriageand the movable platethereon for absolving the shock between the saidparts.

- In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses. I

' JOHN HENRY BIRCH.

JAMES SAMUEL FOLEY. Witnesses:

HENRY S. KERRETT, IDA-PB. SODEN.

